The Economic Offenses Wing of Raipur has filed a formal complaint (FIR) in the Mahadev App case against former Chattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and other individuals.
The agency stated that the complaint was filed on March 4 against Bhupesh Baghel and 21 other people, and that it has been lodged under sections 120B, 34, 406, 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the IPC.
The "Mahadev Book Online" software scandal is thought to be worth over Rs 6,000 crore, with the betting app secretly keeping track of unlawful revenues from crimes totaling Rs 450 crore each month. The money laundering aspect of the allegedly unlawful activities of the Mahadev online gambling and betting program, which allegedly include senior politicians and officials from Chhattisgarh, is also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“The promoters of Mahadev Book App paid huge amounts of protection money to various police officers, administrative officers and influential political persons to stop police from taking any action on their illegal activities. This money used to reach the police and administrative officers through hawala operators, and then further to other senior police officers and influential political persons. This way, several police and administrative officers misused their official position to benefit themselves in the form of protection money and create illegal assets,” states the FIR.
Thus far, the Enforcement Department (ED) has submitted two chargesheets, one of which targets Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, the primary promoters of the purportedly illicit betting and gambling app.
Just prior to the first round of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections in November of last year, the Enforcement Department (ED) said that forensic evidence and Asim Das's confession had produced "startling allegations" that Bhupesh Baghel had received around Rs 508 crore from the promoters of the Mahadev betting app. Baghel had labeled these accusations as an effort to "malign" his reputation, but the Congress pointed fingers at the BJP-led Centre's "vendetta politics" for the development.
On 17th November, however, Das sent a letter to the Enforcement Directorate's director while he was being held in court, and he also forwarded copies of the letter to the prime minister's office and the court. Das said in his letter that the central agency had made him sign a statement in English, a language he does not understand, and that he was being linked to the case. Additionally, he stated that the funds taken from the vehicle were intended to launch a construction company. He acknowledged that his boyhood buddy Soni had planned his two travels to Dubai in October. Das withdrew his denial, according to a January statement from the Enforcement Directorate. Das allegedly informed the agency that he removed his criticism of Baghel "under influence" because he thought it would support his claims.
